Here's the latest article from the Special Needs Children site at BellaOnline.com.

State and National Park Disability Passes

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art56377.asp
Families of children with disabilities may qualify for free or reduced price entrance to state and national parks with disability passes available well in advance of a park visit. Information on documentation, identification and other requirements is available at individual websites.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art56377.asp

From Kerri Morrone's sixuntilme.com blog
Listed at the What's New at Children with Diabetes site
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/whatsnew/d_01_100.htm

Raise Your Voices for Type One Diabetes Awareness
April 14, 2008

On April 14th, we'll Raise Our Voices for Type 1 Diabetes Awareness.  With "diabetes" being one term that covers such diverse territory, it's important to make the distinction that not all "cures for diabetes" or "new diabetes drugs" benefit the type 1 community.  We need progressive and aggressive awareness of type 1 diabetes.  But in order for people to listen, we need to be loud. 

http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/04/raised_voices.html

You can help families of children with Type One, Insulin Dependent diabetes by printing and sharing information with pediatricians, teachers, care providers and your local parenting newspapers.

Childhood onset insulin dependent diabetes has both immediate short term emergency implications and long term health effects from unexpected, untreated low blood sugars (under 70) as well as frequent high blood sugars (over 200). Children with diabetes have the same need and desire to participate in team sports, extracurricular activities, hanging out and parties as their mainstream peers. Learn something about the difference between Type One and Type Two diabetes today! Share the knowledge.

Diabetes (T1D) Information for Classmates
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32541.asp

Back to School with Diabetes
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art52832.asp

Symptoms of Type One Insulin Dependent Childhood Onset Diabetes
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32583.asp

Down Syndrome and Diabetes Dual Diagnosis
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32543.asp

Community Is... Self-Determination
http://www.arcwhatcom.org/newsletters_pcoaltn/2004/10_nov2004.pdf

Children with Diabetes - Comprehensive Information and Support
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/

Find and post helpful information and reliable resources at the Special Needs Children community forum located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=57


Please visit specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com and share the articles there with family, friends, caregivers, medical and education professionals. Let me know if there is a topic missing, or if there is an article at Special Needs Children that would benefit a child with special needs or their family.

Melissa Riggio Made a Difference
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art56423.asp
Melissa Riggio´s birth inspired the creation of the Special Needs section at Barnes & Noble bookstores. Her life in twenty years made more of a difference in the world than many lives of 80.

Faith, Religion, and Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art52349.asp
Families of children with special needs have found wonderful support and encouragement from religious groups and their own communities of faith; children who grow up included in a faith community find lifelong friends and good company

Encouraging Late Talking Children
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55867.asp
Finding ways to encourage late-talking children to communicate helps us to build better relationships within the family and community. When a child misses developmental milestones in speech, or does not speak at all, alternative forms of communication help them show us their full potential

Recognizing Early Signs of Autism
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55223.asp
Recognizing early signs of autism helps families find resoures and support for very young children with autism spectrum disorders. The autism video glossary shows film clips of autism symptoms, helping families reach professionals to find an earlier diagnosis and early intervention options.

Seeing Children with Disabilities in Movies, Ads and Television
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54743.asp
Advocates are stepping forward to describe the importance of children with disabilities being represented in movies, commercials, and television shows as main characters as well as casual extras. Seeing children with disabilities in movies, ads and television impacts siblings and mainstream peers.

MRSA Antibiotic Resistant Staph Infections
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art56280.asp
MRSA and ORSA are antibiotic-resistant staph infections that can quickly become life threatening when diagnosis or treatment is delayed. Children with certain health conditions and developmental disabilities may be more susceptible due to skin conditions, injury, accidents or hospitalizations.

Explaining Down Syndrome to Children
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55519.asp
Deciding how to explain Down syndrome to young children may challenge the beliefs and expectations of adults who see more differences than similarities among children with Down syndrome and their mainstream peers.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art52704.asp
The latest Chicken Soup for the Soul book, _Children with Special Needs - Stories of Love and Understanding for Those Who Care for Children with Disabilities_, includes inspiring tales and wonderful stories about loving and raising kids just like ours

Teens with Disabilities - Transition Planning
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33519.asp

Reflux - Pediatric GERD, Infant GER and EER
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3730.asp

Preparing for Emergencies - Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art50320.asp

Signing, Reading and Spelling
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33567.asp

Oral Health and Dental Visits for Children
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55319.asp

Cutting with Scissors and Other Fine Motor Skills
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art52119.asp

Printing and Cursive Handwriting for Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art51023.asp

Teaching Handwriting to Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art51022.asp

Person Centered Planning
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art53731.asp

Communicating with Babies
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54401.asp

Music Education - Every Voice Heard
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art46397.asp

Cousins of Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art44239.asp

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Pamela Wilson, Special Needs Children Editor
http://specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com